The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) is celebrating “Officials’ Appreciation Week” along with all other Division III and Division II conferences throughout the 2023-2024 academic year. This year marks the second year of this initiative adopted by the Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA) to recognize and thank conference officials across all sports.
 
Officials’ Appreciation Week will be celebrated during the fall, winter and spring sport seasons. To kick off the year, the fall celebration will take place from October 2^nd – October 9^th followed by January 22^nd – January 28^th for winter and April 1^st – April 7^th for spring. 
 
The commitment of the HCAC officials and referees to safe, fair and competitive contests is a critical part of the student-athlete experience.
 
"“While these seasonal appreciation weeks give us a chance to recognize their efforts, I hope our officials, who unselfishly give up their time, know that we could not have our games and events without them, said Commissioner Jay Jones. "We are grateful for them every day, not just on officials appreciation week. At the DIII level, our student-athletes are typically said to be playing ‘for the love of the game’.  What I hope the public realizes is that our officials are also out there as a labor of love for the sports they support.  We appreciate them and the sacrifices their families make so they can do the work for us.”
 
Officials’ Appreciation Week is one of numerous initiatives that are being implemented as part of the Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA) Strategic Plan for Collegiate Officiating that was created as a result of the DIIICA’s Strategic Analysis of the State of Collegiate Officiating. In conjunction with the NCAA and the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), there is an urgent need for sports officials, if interested please visit the NCAA’s Say Yes to Officiating platform to learn more.